EN: Good morning everyone! After abandoning my blog for 4 weeks, as I was on vacation and was then subsequently drowning in work… I am really looking forward to sharing my projects with you once again. Since we have now entered Autumn, it was time for a new coat.

EN: I should probably tart by mentioning, that I spent the last weekend before last in Posenhofen at the Starnberger Lake participating in a sewing retreat. I promise to drop a short blogost about that in the coming days. My plan was to replenish my autumn/winter clothes, after I purged a number of things in September, when it was time to store away the summer clothes.

EN: It was also time for a new coat. I had sewn one earlier this year, but I was not happy with the fit and the sleeves were just too short…Alas, this time I decided to sew up the Sew Over It Cocoon coat. I sewed up a size 12 with no alterations using thick red wool coating from Barry’s that I got in August, when I was in Birmingham on business.

EN: I had initially planned to interline the entire coat with thinsulate, however once I pinned the thinsulate and the lining to the coat and tried it on, everyone at the sewing retreat said it looked ghastly… they were right… CAN YOU SAY HUMPBACK FROM NOTRE DAME??? Anyway, since I hadn’t basted anything, I just pulled out the thinsulate, folded it and put it back into my sewing basket… it will be used for something else.

EN: I lined the coat with Art Gallery poplin and satin in the sleeve, which makes getting in and out of the coat easy. I’m quite happy with the color combo of the red coating with the black and white lining. I hand sewed on a snap, that the lovely Simone gifted to me, as I not only managed to forget to pack my scissors but also all my buttons and snaps… SERIOUSLY????

EN: I’d like to give a big shout-out to Anna, who took these pictures of me at Lake Starnberg. It’s always nice when someone takes your photo and understands how you’d like to show off your new project. Also, let get real trying to take snap with your tripod gets old really, really quickly.

PS: The dress I’m wearing is the Vogue 8825, you can find details about it in the Blogpost I wrote for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network!

EN: Good morning, everyone and hello from Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon, as the locals call it. It is hot, the food is sensational and we’ve already visited all the markets and bought souvenirs and fabric and I have no idea how on earth we’re going to cart everything back to Singapore… as we only booked hand luggage… UUUPPPS!

EN: I got the Mister a guided Vespatour through Saigon, for his birthday this year. The tour spans over 4 hours and includes a very yummy lunch. We got to see beautiful parts of the city, we probably wouldn’t have found on our own and got a real feel for Saigon

EN: After booking the tour, it became abundantly clear… that I had nothing to wear for cruising about on a Vespa… especially since my closet consists of dresses (nearly 90%) and skirts (at least 5%) and really didn’t want to wear jeans at more than 30 degrees… this of course meant I need to brainstorm some ideas at the very last moment… LE SIGH!

EN: At some point I remembered that Lisa Comfort had shown off a Rosie Dress/ Ultimate Culottes Hack on her Vlog and that I really, really liked it. Since I own both patterns, had 3 meters of black viscose twill in my stash, that I had no plans for, I got cracking.

EN: Let’s get down to the construction of this jumpsuit. I cut a size 12 for both the bodice as well as the trousers. I lengthened the bodice by 1 inch and assembled the bodice first. This is an important step to make as you’ll have to move the darts on the trousers, so they will match up with the princess seams on the bodice. That is in fact, the only tricky thing of this hack!

EN: I sewed in an invisible zip, that went in perfectly on the first try, YAS!!! And lined the bodice with the same fabric for a clean finish…. which turned out not to be my smartest idea… the neckline totally bagged out by the end of the day, I think I might just take the bodice apart again and line it with a lawn or something to make it sturdier. The jumpsuit hack was a really easy project and I didn’t only wear it for the Vespatour!! I love this hack and really can’t believe that I waited until the very last moment to make it up… I could have worn this to the office with a nice cardi!!! LE SIGH!!! NEXT YEAR!!!

EN: Anway, I’m currently slurping my second bowl of Pho for the day, and really want another Banh Mie Sandwich… not going to lie,I have no idea how on earth I will ever be able to go back to eating German food, once I go home!! Wishing you all an excellent rest of the week!

EN: Good morning, everyone! 2 Blogposts in one week? Is the world about to end? Don‘t get used to it… You will probably not hear from me for weeks after this… JUST KIDDING! The reason for this post is that SEW OVER IT released their brand new EBook „My Capsule Wardrobe: Work to Weekend“ and I was lucky enough to get to test some of the patterns.

EN: The new Ebook consists of 5 new patterns that can been sewn in a whopping 12 variations!!! The idea behind the books, is that the garments should take you from the office, to an after work party to a stylish weekend. I have of course already tested this thesis and can report, that they definitely hold up to their promise! I tested 2 of the 5 patterns and sewed up 5 garments, that I will be showing you in the coming weeks.

EN: Today I’d like to show you the Kate Blouse and Skirt ( I will show you the Kate dress sometime next week, when I reshoot the photos). I sewed up the Kate blouse in a size 12 using a lightweight chambray. I lengthened the blouse by 2 inches, as it would have been way too cropped for me and I really like tucking my blouses into my skirts and trousers. I used French seams for the blouse, for pretty insides and finished the hem using a cream colored bias binding.

EN:I really love the button band that is REALLY EASY to sew. The instructions are very clear and SOI also makes your life easy by giving you (very intricate) step by step photo instructions for EVERY PATTERN! This of course insures, that you will end up with wonderfully looking garments, once you are done. I used buttons from my stash… and no I still haven’t gotten around to replenish my shrinking button stash… le sigh…

EN: The Kate Skirt, which I sewed up in a size 12, consists of 6 pieces. You can sew the skirt with a side slit, which I didn’t bother with, as I always manage to find myself in situations where having a slit in your skirt generally makes the situation worse… LOL! I used white lace I got with my Mom at the Birmingham Ragmarket last March. As the lace is see-through I decided to underline it, using my favorite lawn from Like Sew Amazing. All I did was cut out the 6 skirt pieces using the lawn and then basting the lawn to the lace and treating the pieces as one, when I sewed the skirt together.

EN: I finished the seams with my overlocker and sewed the hem of the skirt on my machine for a change, as I really wanted to get done! LOL!! I actually wore this outfit on my last business trip to Birmingham, in July. During a meal out with my colleagues, a waitress dropped a pot of mayonnaise and ketchup on my skirt… I nearly cried! Not only did I have to spend the rest of the day running around with a stained skirt, but I was worried, that the ketchup wouldn’t wash out and I would never be able to wear the skirt again. Luckily Vanish came through, for me and you cannot see the stain at all!

EN: My final thoughts on the new EBook and this Kate Combo is, that I am completely over the moon with them! I think all the patterns are very grown up and modern and definitely fit my style, taste and lifestyle. I’m looking forward to sewing up the patterns, that I didn’t get around to testing, over the weekend. Wishing you all a great rest of the week! Talk soon!

EN: Good morning, everyone! Since a number of weeks, I am part of the „Like Sew Amazing Blog Squad“ of the „Like Sew Amazing“ online shop of the lovely Sarah.( I met Sarah, while I was still living in the UK!!) Sarah sells a wonderfully, curated selection of fabrics and notions and ships out your orders in WARP-Speed! (My last package arrived in my mailbox within 3 days!).

EN: For my first project, I decided on this cotton from Cotton and Steel. My plan was initially to sew up another Penny dress, but the fabric didn’t have enough drape (something Sarah had warned me about… but I didn’t listen..), so I had to have a long think about, what I wanted to sew. Then I saw the above outfit from Mango, that fashion Bloggers such as The Londoner posted about and I couldn’t believe the similarity the outfit had with the Sew over It Erin Skirt and Penny Top. You know what followed next!

EN: I sewed the Erin skirt up using size 12 and made sure to match up the pattern of the fabric, as best as I could. As for the Penny Top, I used this Tutorial and lengthened the top by 9 cm so that I would be able to wear it with jeans, as well. I must confess that I was still a bit ambivalent about the top until I finished sewing it and put it on… BUT I LOVE IT! I used buttons that I had in my stash. I think I needed about 1,5 hours for each garment and I really love it, when I can quickly sew up something I really love.

EN: I’ve already worn my new summer combo a few times and it really works well with other preexisting garments I already have in my closet. Sometimes you just need to be inspired by a current ready to wear look to spruce up your wardrobe!

EN: Good Morning, everyone and hello, dearest June!! I can’t believe that we’ve officially hit the half year mark, time is just flying! I’ve spent the last two weeks sewing quite a few things. After participating in this years’ #MeMadeMay on Instagram I noticed that I still had quite a few gaps in my work wardrobe and that I really need a few short sleeve blouses and skirts. The office I work in is really warm and sitting there 10 hours a day wearing long sleeves is definitely no fun, at all! I promise to share some of my new office attire on my blog in the coming weeks. Today, I wanted to show you my new Penny Dress by Sew Over It, that I also love wearing in the office.

EN: I’ve already sewed up the Penny Dress before (here) and I wear it quite a bit because I love how light the fabric is and because it’s short sleeves… LOL…. This time I sewed up the pattern using the most amazing poplin Palm Print from the online shop of the lovely Sarah http://www.likesewamazing.com. I made the dress up in a size 10 and lengthened the bodice by 1.5 inches so that the bodice hits my natural waist.

EN: I finished the seams using my serger and hand sewed the hem of the sleeves and the skirt, to avoid a visible stitches. I really enjoy hand sewing, if I’m perfectly honest. I a actually watched a German TV series called Charité about the Charité Hospital in Berlin, in the late 1900s. It was surprisingly well made, I often cringe through German TV shows, but I can really recommend this one. The costumes were really amazing and I loved the uniform the nurses wore back then… also, why have hats gone out of fashion? Anyway, I am still waiting for (not so) patiently for Netflix to drop the second season of Queen of the South… which of course means that all housework, cooking and sewing will be suspended until I have worked my way through ALL THE EPISODES!!! Hahahahahah

EN: Good Morning, everyone! I hope you’re well and that the heat is not getting to you. We’ve had the fan running since April and even our cat Henry comes to lie on the bed at night, so that he can catch some cool air, the poor thing! Right, let’s get down to Business! My new favourite shirt the ULTIMATE SHIRT by Sew Over It! I was lucky enough to get to test their new online class, before it was released and ladies (and gentlemen!) this is the kind of course I’ve wanted to take since forever.

EN: If you’ve been intimidated by sewing up a shirt so far, don’t look any further than this course. Lisa holds your hand and teaches you every step you’ll need to make up the perfect shirt. The course also supplies you with tutorials on how to get the right fit, from how to make swayback adjustments, to protruding bellies, to shoulder adjustments, you name it , they have it. For those of you, who’ve made a shirt before, you might still learn useful skills. My collars have never looked this good, after using their instructions!

EN: In addition to the Ultimate Shirt, the course also offers the Hackney pattern FOR MEN! Yes, you read that right! SOI walks you through sewing up the most professional looking men’s shirt with the perfect fit. I’ve already bought fabric to make my long suffering Mister a shirt, he deserves it!!

EN: And since I’m a bit bonkers, I decided to sew up 3 shirts in 2 weeks! All three fabrics are from France, the one with the geometric print is from Atelier Brunette, that I got at their online sale last summer. The other two fabrics are from Pretty Mercerie. I really like wearing these shirts to the office with jeans and I’m pretty sure, that I’m not done making up more of these shirts!

EN: Good morning, everyone! After weeks of amazing weather I am quite happy that the temperatures have cooled down and I am now able to wear my trench coats for a little bit. Last weekend, it was the Mister’s nephew’s christening and since I am very last –minute-dot-com I decided at 4PM on the day before the christening, to sew myself a new outfit….WHY???

EN: I sewed up the Penny Dress by Sew Over it, which was a pattern that was released last year, with their PDF Club. When the pattern was released, I sewed up the dress in a viscose and had never ending problems as I forgot to lengthen the bodice, the fabric bagged out and Ii ruined the button band…The skirt kept growing and even after I redid the hem twice it is still 3 different lengths…. Which is why I relegated it to “house dress”, which I wear on hot days… at home… I’m not going to lie.. the dress is ok, but I don’t feel fabulous in it.

EN: When I decided to make up another outfit for the christening, I knew it needed to be a pattern, that sewed up really quickly. I dug up the pattern, and lengthend the front and bock bodice pieces by 1 inch. Then I went through my stash, as the pattern does call for 3 meters of fabric. Luckily, I had this Elderflower press Lawn from Lisa Comfort, and let’s be real that fits together like white on rice!

EN: I cut out everything and started sewing up the dress. I think that took me about 2.5 hours in whole, I did take the time to hand sew the hem of the kimono sleeves and the skirt by hand. We decided to rewatch the last Bond movie “Spectre” and by the end of the movie, I had a finished dress! I chose some vintage buttons from my stash, that go really well with the fabric. The fabric is pretty fabulous, if I may say o myself! It feel quite similar to the Tana Lawn that Liberty is famous for.

EN: I actually made the Mister a matching pocket square 1 hour before we were due to leave, which turned out really nice! The christening was really lovely, the weather was great, as it was held outside and the deacon made the ceremony very personal and kept it short. I think everyone present was really touched. I’ve added a picture of the Mister and I below , standing in a field next to the chapel.